That is the guess of  a Washington Think tank based on the Case-Shiller home price index, as reported in today’s Los Angeles Times.
Supposedly, this will complete the deflation of the housing bubble started by Mr. Greenspan.
This will put more homes underwater, worth less than the amount of the mortgages borrowed against the house.
This writer has [...]

Popularity: 15% [?]

A recent bench decision by Maryland Bankruptcy Court Judge Thomas J. Catliota was an important ruling regarding the real party in interest requirement of FRBP 7017.
Americredit Financial Services, Inc., an auto loan servicer, filed a MLS in its own name. Its name appears on the car title as the sole lienholder, it represented that it [...]

Popularity: 28% [?]

Houses and other property can be sold while someone is in bankruptcy, but there are specific rules that must be followed when you do it. As Brett Weiss said in his article Can I Sell My House While I’m In Bankruptcy?, you must get court approval before property is sold. Until [...]

Popularity: 23% [?]

How many times may a foreclosing mortgagee reschedule the sale after a bankruptcy is filed?  In Massachusetts, maybe once is enough.
It has been the accepted custom to allow one rescheduled sale, to preserve the status quo in case a bankruptcy filing is quickly dismissed.  But Judge Joel B. Rosenthal’s eyebrows were raised at allegations of [...]

Popularity: 19% [?]

The pain of foreclosure runs deep. According to an article in The Washington Post, “Losing a Best Friend Along With the House,” local animal shelters are reporting that 15% of animals received in the past two months are the result of foreclosure.
The story quotes Kathy Dillon, the operations coordinator at the Montgomery County, Maryland Humane [...]

Popularity: 16% [?]

Congress could help homeowners in trouble, but once again has said a loud “NO” to help for homeowners in need. Today the Senate did not vote to support S.R. Bill 256 which could have helped so many families facing loss of their homes. Something has to be done to give some relief to [...]

Popularity: 38% [?]

     Mortgage companies routinely ignore Chapter 13 bankruptcy law.
You complete your plan payments, believing you are once again current with the mortgage, having accomplished your goal.
But then, you get a notice from the mortgage company, claiming you still owe them thousands of dollars.  Or, worse still, you just get a notice of a foreclosure sale [...]

Popularity: 42% [?]

In a March 30th article by reporter Kevin G. Hall of McClatchy Newspapers, he recounts the struggle of distressed homeowners seeking the relief promised by the Bush Administration and mortgage lenders.
The lesson learned from Hall’s subjects – Chris Jennings and Julie Mickley – is that homeowners must be bold and relentless in dealing with their [...]

Popularity: 30% [?]

     As readers of this blog know, the Greenspan bubble that led to the sub-prime crisis was not a secret.
Of course, Chairman Al is not out of excuses.  I think we should all adopt one of them, the “I got a hand-written exoneration note, after the public criticism, from the guy who is now dead” [...]

Popularity: 22% [?]

Many of the same miserable exploding ARM loans that bring clients into my office contain Truth in Lending Act violations.  The right to rescind a transaction that violated TILA is an arrow in my quiver for saving a house.
Absent some legal theory that challenges the lender’s right to foreclose, we are left with the argument [...]

Popularity: 17% [?]